News

Civil War Soldier to Posthumously Receive Medal of Honor

10/29/2014

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President Obama will present the
Medal of Honor to Army 1st
Lt. Alonzo Cushingposthumously on Nov. 6. The Civil War Union Army lieutenant served as
commanding officer of Battery A, 4th United States Artillery, Artillery Brigade,
2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac, when his battery was charged near Cemetery
Ridge in Gettysburg, Pa. During Pickett’s Charge, Cushing manned the only
remaining serviceable field piece in his battery and went up against the
Confederate forces, sustaining injuries to the abdomen and the right shoulder.
He pressed through the injuries and continued to fire before being shot and
killed by Confederate forces. He is credited with helping the Union Army repel
the assault with his bravery in the battle. His cousins, Frederic Stevens Sater
and Frederic Cushing Stevens III, will be in attendance for the White House
ceremony, according to a Pentagon release.